


Orpheus and Eurydice

by lucifersfavoritechild



Series: "It's the Perfect Story" Asides/Aus/One-Shots [5]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, F/M, Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Greek Mythology - Freeform, I Need Another Story, It's the Perfect Story, Orpheus and Eurydice Myth, The Brightest Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 01:26:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9855905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucifersfavoritechild/pseuds/lucifersfavoritechild
Summary: Tori goes to the Underworld to find Luke.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheBrightestNight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrightestNight/gifts).
  * Inspired by [I Need Another Story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7094068) by [TheBrightestNight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrightestNight/pseuds/TheBrightestNight). 



Tori and Nick were arguing during her archery class. Usually she’d try to keep calm if she had a class to teach, but he’d crossed a line when he started talking about Luke.

 “Stop talking about him!” She shouted, wanting to hit him. “You don’t understand, _I loved him!_ ”

"Really? Well, when did you love him more, Tori? When he was recruiting children for his army, or when he was killing your brothers?”

Tori stepped back like she’d been slapped. She stared at him with wide eyes. “You don’t...you didn’t know him, you don’t…” She looked at the others, her brothers and sisters, none of whom could face her. When she turned to them, they looked away. For a moment, she whipped around from side to side, desperate. But no one came to her aid. Steeling herself, she forced her face into a stony mask. Silent, she took off her quiver and set it and her bow on a table. Someone touched her arm. They were talking, but Tori ignored them as she left. No one followed.

She entered her cabin with a single-minded determination. She grabbed a duffel bag and packed it with clothes, shoes, toiletries, and weapons. She took all the money she had, and took a bit from some of her siblings’ bunks. She might have felt bad about it if they hadn’t ignored her earlier. Now all she felt was a sort of cold fury.

She snuck some food out of the kitchens and put it with everything else. She considered leaving her bow ring behind, but it was too valuable, and she reluctantly kept it.

She made sure her guitar was with her and gathered her stuff. It was heavier than she would have liked, but she didn’t plan on walking the whole way.

Tori didn’t talk at dinner, but she made sure to eat as much as she could before she left during the campfire. She could hear her siblings singing as she walked alone.

* * *

_Four Months Later_

 

The sky was orange and purple during the desert sunset. Tori sat her satchel down next to her and adjusted her guitar so that the body was sitting in her lap and its neck was in her hand. She took a few practice strums to get a feel for what she needed. She double-checked to make sure it was well-tuned before pulling herself back to the subject at hand.

She did it. It had taken months of research and more than a few bribes and favors, but she’d found the entrance to the underworld.

Supposedly it was the same one that Orpheus had used, only moved to the Mojave desert. It looked like a random pile of rocks, but she’d felt its power, its _pull_ as soon as she saw it. If this worked, she’d have Luke back. If not… 

 _It will work_ , she thought forcefully. It had to.

Unsure of what to sing, she ran her hand over the guitar. She felt the spiral scorch on the back where Dan had set it on the hot stove, and scratch marks on the front where a dog had scratched it. If she looked, she could even see the slight fade it had from the way her mother had always set it next to a lamp in her room. And slowly, the song came to her, one she’d heard before that had made her cry thinking of Luke.

_Fitting._

She strummed the guitar. This was more of a piano song, but it didn’t matter. The words came to her all the same, as naturally as breathing.

“How can I say this without breaking? How can I say this without taking over? How can I put it down into words, when it's almost too much for my soul alone?”

She looked at the rocks. They were unmoved, but she kept going. “I loved and I loved and I lost you. I loved and I loved and I lost you. I loved and I loved and I lost you. And it hurts like hell. Yeah, it hurts like hell.”

The entrance stayed closed, but she could feel something else. A pulsing feeling in her hands that made it difficult to keep strumming. Still, she didn’t stop.

“I don't want them to know the secrets. I don't want them to know the way I loved you. I don't think they'd understand it, no. I don't think they would accept me, no.”

 _Finally_ , the rocks started to move. At first they just shook, so slowly she didn’t even notice at first. Soon they were vibrating. Encouraged, she kept singing. “I loved and I loved and I lost you. I loved and I loved and I lost you. I loved and I loved and I lost you. And it hurts like hell. Yeah, it hurts like hell.” One of the rocks moved out of the way entirely, revealing a small black hole, just large enough for a mouse. “Dreams fight with machines, inside my head like adversaries. Come wrestle me free, clean from the war. Your heart fits like a key into the lock on the wall. I turn it, I turn it, but I can't escape. I turn it over, I turn it over…”

The rocks kept moving until there was only one. Tears welled in her eyes as she began the last verse. “I loved and I loved and I lost you. I loved and I loved and I lost you. I loved and I loved and I lost you. And it hurts like hell.”

The final rock moved, leaving a hole large enough for someone twice her size. Gripping her guitar so tight her knuckles turned white, Tori crawled towards it apprehensively. From here, she could see the Underworld, dark and gloomy as always. If she listened closely, she could hear the screams of the damned. But if she strained, she could see the faint glow of Elysium. 

 _Luke._ Moving quickly, she strapped her satchel and guitar to her back, checked to make sure she had her sword and dagger, and slid through the hole.

* * *

The Underworld had not changed since the last time she’d been there. Charon stood on his boat on the River Styx. Tori marched across craggy rocks and black volcanic sand until she reached the high stone wall that served as the entrance to Hades proper. There was a single line headed to Cerberus, and Tori joined them, shivering whenever one of the dead spirits brushed up against her. The giant, three-headed rottweiler sniffed her and growled when she came near, but she took a giant dog biscuit out of her satchel and gave it to him. He chewed it and barked gratefully, allowing her to pass with the others.

Tori joined the EZ Death line, figuring it would be the fastest. She almost wanted to take a break and let her feet rest, but she was close now and didn’t want to stop. The security ghouls let her pass, and soon she was in the Fields of Asphodel. She was sure there were millions of people here, but she’d only come for one. She walked along until she found the Judges’ tent, out of which came two smaller lines. One led to the Fields of Punishment, the other…the other one went to Elysium. A small valley with homes of every time period and silver and gold flowers. That was where Luke was. It took all she had not to run to him then, but she had a plan.

She found a pathway leading to Hades’s palace. She stepped onto it just fine, but whenever one of Asphodel’s spirits tried, they just fell back. Her heart ached with pity for them, but she kept moving.

Surrounding the palace were glittering black walls and massive bronze gates engraved with death scenes. Inside the courtyard was Persephone’s garden, filled with piles of gems and luminous plants. In the center of the garden was a grove of pomegranate trees with bright orange blooms. Frozen guests peppered the yard, smiling inanely. She passed them all with a single-minded purpose.

 Tori walked up the steps of the palace through a black marble portico, entering the house of Hades. The floor was polished bronze, and the only ceiling was the cavern roof. The doors were guarded by skeletons in military gear, both modern and ancient. The final doors stood at the opposite end of the room and were guarded by two U.S. marine skeletons. They eyed her suspiciously as she approached. “Who are you?” One of them demanded.

“Victoria Williams, daughter of Apollo.”

“Out lord isn’t expecting any visitors today,” the other said.

“It’s urgent,” she told them, making her voice crack for effect. 

She could tell they were still suspicious, but one of them went to talk to Hades regardless leaving the other to make sure she didn’t try anything. They stood in silence for a few moments.

 Tori tried not to bounce up and down on her feet, but it was useless. A grin spread over her face. _Almost there!_ All she had to do was get through the meeting with Hades. Not the most pleasant task in the world, but she’d had worse.

The door sprung open and the guard moved to the side with the other returned. She saluted them, amused when they returned the gesture. 

She entered the room silently. Hades sat upon a black onyx throne decorated with skulls. He was at least ten feet tall and dressed in black silk robes with a crown of braided gold. His skin was chalky white, his hair long and jet-black. His presence radiated power in a way that no other god she’d ever met had. Next to him was a smaller, empty throne shaped like a black and gold flower.

Hades was surrounded by soldiers from centuries past. A hellhound sat on either side of his throne. Seeing them, Tori’s hand itched towards her sword, but she stopped herself. Before he could speak, she walked forward and knelt before him. “Lord Hades,” she began, her voice ringing through the room, “I have come to beg a favor of you.”

Hades arched an eyebrow. “A favor? And why should I give you anything?”

Now was the hard part. “You don’t owe me anything, that’s true. But you are also the only one who can give me what I need.”

He stared at her curiously. “What is it you seek?”

She could feel the sweat beading on her brow, but she forced herself to speak past her fear of him. “I’ve come to beg you to return Luke Castellan to the living. If it please you,” she added quickly.

Hades stared at her as though he thought she were crazy, joking, or both. When he realized she wasn’t, he scoffed. “Why would I do that? You said it yourself, I owe you nothing, you have done nothing for me. Give me one reason why I should do this for you.”

 _Now._ Tori stood up and pulled her guitar off her back. Hades stared, but said nothing. Strumming mindlessly at first, she soon started to sing. She couldn’t tell you the words, or even if there were any, but she poured her soul into it. All her anger and grief, all her love for Luke, every time she cried, everything she ever felt was put into that song. By the time she was done, iron tears rolled down Hades’s cheeks, and her own face was wet.

 She lowered her guitar and looked up at Hades, desperate. _Please_ , she thought, _please think I was as good as Orpheus, please consider it worthy, please give Luke back to me, please._

The god of death cleared his throat and announced in his booming voice, “After careful consideration, I have decided to grant you this wish.”

Tori grinned ear to ear, crying. “Thank you, my lord, thank you!”

“However,” he continued seriously, “You must not look upon Luke while either of you is still in the underworld.”

“I won’t,” she promised, “I swear I won’t.”

Hades nodded slightly. “Go to the garden. He’ll join you there.”

Bowing one last time, Tori left. She stood under one of the pomegranate trees, drawn in by its scent. She was tempted to pick one, but she knew what would happen if she did.

 _Still_ , she thought, reaching out, _just one seed couldn’t hurt._

“Tori?”

Her hand stopped in its track, just an inch away from the pomegranate. How could she not have noticed him? He was standing right behind her. She could hear him shift from foot to foot, could _feel_ his breath, so warm in this cold place.

“Luke?” she whispered. She almost turned around then, desperate to see him, but she couldn’t. She closed her eyes to force herself not to look at him.

Tori felt him take her hand in his, and shut her eyes tighter. “I can’t look at you. Not until we leave.”

“I know,” he said. He drew her hand to him, resting it against the side of his face. She felt the raised flesh of his scar. One of her fingers moved over to his lips. Tori let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in as tears overflowed from her eyes.

“ _Luke_ ,” she sobbed, putting a hand to the pomegranate tree to support herself. “I lost you.”

Luke nodded, brushing his fingers over where he knew her scars were under her shirt. He used to do that all the time. She asked him why once. _“I don’t know. It’s comforting, I guess.”_

“I lost you, too,” Luke said, “Sometimes I would stand at the gates of Elysium and look for you, but you were never there. Not that I was upset you’re alive, but I missed you.”

Tori laughed, half-hysterical. “I missed you too.” She stood up straight and pulled her hand away from him. “We have to go.”

She led him through the courtyard to Asphodel, holding onto his hand the whole way. They were quiet at first, but the silence soon grew oppressive. “How did you get here?” Luke asked.

“Long story,” Tori said, “I’ll tell you about it later.”

Neither of them said anything for a moment. Then Luke asked, “How’s Annabeth?”

She’d expected the question, and wished she had a better answer. “She was doing well the last time I saw her, but I haven’t really talked to anyone from camp in a few months. I think she’s looking at colleges now.”

“What about Percy?” They were almost through Asphodel now, only meters away from the entrance.

“About the same. He was missing for a while about a year ago, though. It was kind of a big deal.”

As they walked, she told him about the war with Gaea and everything else he’d missed. There were several times she almost looked at him before stopping herself.

The guards let them pass, and she gave Cerberus another biscuit, leaving her satchel behind. Soon they were at the hole she’d come through. She went out first, planting her hands on the sandy ground and pulling herself up. She crawled a few feet away and stayed down on her knees, keeping her eyes closed as Luke followed.

“Are you out?” she asked, not looking, “Luke, _are you out?!_ ”

“Yes!” Luke shouts, coming up behind her. “Tori, I’m right here.” He put a hand on her shoulder and gently turned her towards him.

Tori stared at him. His sandy hair was messy, and his blue eyes shone in the moon and starlight. Tori’s hand trembled as she reached out to him, placing her palm over his heart. The beat was strong and reassuring. Tori’s voice trembled when she said, “You’re _here_.” She started crying again, and Luke wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. A tear splattered onto her cheek, and she realized it was his. 

“I’m here.” He kissed her and she ran her fingers through his hair, holding him to her. “I’m here,” he repeated, pulling away from her some to take off his shirt. He kept repeating it over and over as they moved together, for once at peace with the world around them. “I’m here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me @tori-castellan on tumblr.


End file.
